An outdoor, hands-on learning experience held on a perfect fall day may have planted the seed of interest in agriculture-related career options for dozens of middle school students.
Target materials: chickens, goats, geese, bees, and lots of fall-themed plants like pumpkins and mums. Colonial School District invites interested eighth-graders to spend time in William Penn High School’s greenhouse and animal enclosures and at nearby Penn Farm, considered the largest school-affiliated farm program in the country I invited you.
(Featured in video – WPHS Instructor Katie Hawkins, WPHS Student Thomas, and WPHS Penn Farm Manager Toby Hagelot)
According to Katie Hawkins, WPHS plant science teacher and FFA advisor, many questions usually arise. “Can I hold a chicken? That’s a big question. A lot of kids want to know what we have to offer and what the pen can do for them. We really have a chance to showcase that here.”
“Students want to come and they become very engaged on Penn Farm Day,” said Toby Hagelot, Penn Farm Manager at William Penn High School.
WPHS student Jeffrey Brennan shared his enthusiasm for the agriculture program.
“It’s been really great. This program has given me so many opportunities both inside and outside of school,” Brennan said.
Penn Farm Day is held twice a year. Sixth graders will be invited in the spring.